The ratings agencies are the new bad guys. They chose when to impact the markets They are earning a living by giving dubious ratings (before the financial crisis they were giving good ratings for various junk bonds that clearly were not healthy, including Lehman, Enron, Parmalat or subprime mortgages).
Their methods are opaque. And they have forgotten the financial state of the US and the UK, which raises suspicions that they are conspirators in an English-speaking oligopoly that wants to do away with the euro.
It makes sense that the BCE has accused them of giving fairweather ratings. That is to say, the agencies are too heavily influenced by prevailing moods in the markets and create an intense feedback loop with their ratings. It is true that the ratings don?t have much meaning if there are recovery measures and bailouts in progress.
By not talking about what portends of a second Portuguese recovery looks like, they are looking forward to a lot just when they have characterized them as sluggish.
Is it legitimate to restore Portugal´s reputation even at the rest of Europe?s expense? Perhaps we should say that investing in Portugal is a bargain? Unable to sell what its electorate must do, the EU politicians prefer to blame a messenger who is not exempt from blame.
They are just waiting for economic issues to wane and for the banks to improve their standing, and meanwhile they are looking for ways to buy time like the French, refinancing 70% of what will mature by 2014 at interest rates between 5% and 8% with no increase. Athens will set aside 30% of these funds to purchase AAA debt with guarantees that they can refinance it. Can?t we see another unconquerable mountain despite what the rating agencies say? We wait as the clock ticks on.
